Fastening device



July 14, 1970 F, A, CLARK 3,520,035

" FASTENING DEVICE Filed May 2, 1968 F 4 FRANCIS A. CLARK ATTORNEY 3,520,035 FASTENING DEVICE Francis A. Clark, 1192 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. 10028 Filed May 2, 1968, Ser. No. 726,119 Int. Cl. A44b 21/00 US. Cl. 24255 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A fastening device, especially useful in lieu of safety pins or the like, to releasably' hold together parts of a diaper. The device includes a clamp unit consisting of a U-shaped member, having a web and a pair of parallel arms, and a pair of arcuate jaw members, each of which is an extension of a corresponding arm. One of the arms is provided with a through opening and the other with a recess in its inner surface opposite the opening. A lever extends through the opening and is pivotally connected to said one of the arms about an axis across the opening. The part of the lever to one side of the axis projects into the space between the arms and toward the web, while the part of the lever to the other side of the axis is exterior the clamp unit and normally overlies a jaw member. The distance between the axis and the free end of said one part of the lever is greater than the distance between the axis and the recess when the device is in normal closed condition. Pivotal movement of the lever in one direction about the axis causes relative outward flexing of the arms and registration of the free end of said one part of the lever with the recess.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to a device for uniting parts of an article or a plurality of articles and more particularly, to a fastening device having improved features of design and construction. The invention pertains, in one of its specific aspects to a spring type fastening device which may be advantageously used in place of safety pins or the like for holding together parts of a diaper.

As is well known, safety pins are commonly employed to join parts of diapers or other articles worn by infants. Such pins are highly objectionable for the reason that they have sharply pointed tip elements that are potentially dangerous. While numerous attempts have been made over the years to overcome the objections to safety pins, none has heretofore been successful.

The fastening device of this invention is intended to, and does in fact, successfully and advantageously overcome the inherent objections to safety pins as will be evident from the ensuing detailed description and the accompanying drawing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A preferred fastening device according to this invention comprises a resilient clamp unit including a U-shaped member, having a web and a pair of spaced parallel arms, and a pair of jaw members which are extensions of corresponding arms. An opening is provided at the juncture of one of the arms and its jaw member. A lever extends through the opening and is pivotally connected to the clamp unit by a pin having an axis which extends across the opening. The part of the lever to one side of the pin axis projects into the space between the arms and toward the web. The part of the lever to the other side of the pin axis is positioned exterior the clamp unit. The arms are adapted to be flexed outwardly relative to each other in response to pivotal movement of the lever in one direction about the pin axis. A recess is provided in the inner sur- United States Patent T 3,520,035 Patented July 14, 1970 face of the other arm. The parts are so constructed and arranged that the free end of said one part of the lever registers with the recess upon predetermined pivotal movement of the lever in said one direction whereby to releasably maintain the clamp unit in open condition. Upon pivotal movement of the lever in a reverse direction, the lever is released from the recess allowing the parts to return to normally closed condition.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a fastening device having improved features of design and construction.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel spring type fastening device that is adapted to effectively and releasably hold together parts of an article or a plurality of articles by a simple clamping action.

Another object of this invention is to provide a fastening device that is devoid of sharp points or other potentially dangerous elements in use.

A further object of this invention is to provide a fastening device that is adapted to be readily and conveniently operated by one hand, thereby leaving a persons other hand free.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a device of the character indicated that is simple, compact and attractive in design; that is sturdy and durable in construction; that is reasonable in manufacturing costs; and that is capable of performing its intended fuctions in a satisfactory and dependable manner.

The enumerated objects and additional objects, together with the advantages of the invention, will be readily apparent to persons trained in the art from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing which respectively describe and illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing, wherein like reference numerals identify corresponding parts in the several views:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a fastening device ac cording to this invention and illustrates the relative posi tion of the parts when the device is in normal closed condition;

FIG. 2 is a view in enlargement taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 corresponds to FIG. 2 and illustrates the relative position of the parts when the device is in fully open condition, a portion of the actuating lever shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 being omitted; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, top plan view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Reference is first had to FIG. 1 which illustrates a preferred and recommended form of fastening device 5 that is constructed in accordance with this invention. Device 5 is composed of three parts, namely a clamp unit 6, an actuating lever 7 and a pivot pin 8. These parts are preferably made of a suitable, non-corrosive, acid-resistant metal.

Clamp unit 6, which is best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is of one-piece construction and is resilient. This unit comprises a generally U-shaped member 10 which consists of a web 11, an upper arm 12 and a lower arm 13 having a transverse recess 14. Integral with and extending beyond each arm 12 and 13 is a corresponding elongated arcuate jaw member 15 and 16. The jaw members are oppositely disposed and relatively inverted, member 15 being convex and member 16 being concave. The free ends of the jaw members are rounded, as indicated at 17 and 18, respectively, and are in engagement when the device is in its normal closed condition (FIG. 2).

Each jaw member is serrated or otherwise roughened along its inner surface, as indicated at 20, to provide frictional gripping or holding engagement with an article during use.

The portion 21 of clamp unit 6,, in the region of the juncture of arm 12 and jaw member 15, is of greater thickness than the remainder of this unit and is provided with a rectangular through opening 22.

Actuating lever 7 extends through opening 22 and projects into the space between arms 12 and 13 and toward web 11. As is indicated in the several views, lever 7 is pivotally connected to clamp unit 6 by a pin 8 which extends through aligned openings (not shown) in clamp unit portion 21 and in the lever. The lever consists of two parts, namely a first part 23 which is to one side of the axis of pin 8 and a second part 24 which is to the opposite side of the axis of pin 8. Lever part 23 is positioned wholly within the confines of U-shaped element 10. The major portion of lever part 24 is positioned exterior the clamp unit and has a configuration conforming to that of part of jaw member whereby it overlies and bears against the jaw member when the fastening device is in closed condition (FIGS. 1 and 2). The free end of lever part 24 is rounded and is slightly upturned, as indicated at 25, to facilitate actuation.

It will be noted from an examination of FIG. 2 that the distance between the axis of pin 8 and the free end of lever part 23 is greater than the distance between the pin axis and the inner surface of the arm 13 of the clamp unit.

The parts are so constructed and arranged as to assume the relative position shown in FIG. 2 when the fastening device is in fully closed condition due to the resilience of clamp unit 6. The fastening device may be readily actuated from closed condition (FIG. 2) to fully open condition (FIG. 3) by moving lever 7 in a counter-clockwise direction about the axis of pin 8, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3. In the course of such movement, lever part 23 rides along the inner surface of arm 13 and causes relative outward flexing movement of arms 12 and 13 and corresponding relative outward movement of jaw members 15 and 16. Upon predetermined counter-clockwise movement of lever 7, the free end of part 23 registers with recess 14 and part 24 of the lever bears against an abutment 26 which is formed by a portion of arm 12 that defines opening 22. When the parts are in this relative position, the device is releasably maintained in fully opened condition by the lever.

The fastening device is readily converted from open condition (FIG. 3) to closed condition (FIG. 2) by simply swinging lever 7 in a clockwise direction about the axis of pin 8. This disengages the lever from recess 14 and allows the parts to return to the relative position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 due to the resiliency of the clamp unit.

It will be appreciated that parts of a diaper or other article may be readily introduced between jaw members 15 and 16, when the device is in fully or partly open condition, and be firmly gripped by the jaw members, when lever 7 is released and allowed to move toward closed condition.

If desired, the exposed parts of the illustrated form of the invention may be coated with a suitable protective material, such as an appropriate synthetic plastic composition, that is resistant to moisture, acids and cleansing compounds.

Based on the foregoing, it is believed that the construction, objects and advantages of my present invention will be readily comprehended by persons skilled in the art, without further description.

I claim:

1. A fastening device comprising:

(a) a clamp unit made of a resilient material and including:

(1) a generally U-shaped member consisting of:

(a) a web; and (b) a pair of spaced generally parallel arms;

and (2) a pair of jaw members, each of which is an extension of a corresponding arm,

said jaw members being oppositely convex in a lengthwise direction, the clamp unit defining an opening in the region of the juncture of one of the arms and the corresponding jaw member; and

(b) a lever extending through said opening and being pivotally connected to the clamp unit about an axis which extends across said opening, the part of the lever to one side of said axis projecting into the space between the arms and toward the web, the part of the lever to the opposite side of said axis being positioned exterior the clamp unit, having a configuration conforming to that of the outer surface of a jaw member and overlying said jaw member when the device is in normal closed condition, the arms being adapted to be flexed outwardly relative to each other in response to pivotal movement of the lever in one direction about said axis.

2. A fastening device according to claim 1 wherein:

(a) the exposed surface of the parts are non-corrosive and acid-resistant;

(b) the distance between said axis and the free end of said one part of the lever is greater than the distance between said axis and the inner surface of the other arm;

(c) the other arm is formed with a recess to receive the free end of said one part of the lever in response to predetermined pivotal movement of the lever about said axis in said one direction; and

(d) the inner surfaces of the jaw members are roughened to effect frictional holding engagement with an article that is adapted to be positioned therebetween.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 674,847 5/1901 Lundburg. 1,068,270 7/ 1913 Posner. 1,501,001 7/1924 Lane.

1,745,103 1/1930 Lenze. 2,670,514 3/1954 Sieck. 2,153,853 4/1939 Vaughan.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner 

